The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Belden (NYSE:BDC) Price Target to $120.00

Belden (NYSE:BDC) had its price objective lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $139.00 to $120.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 29.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Belden from $155.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Belden in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Belden from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.20.

Belden Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:BDC traded down $5.81 on Thursday, hitting $92.50. 137,874 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 273,056. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $105.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $114.02. Belden has a 1 year low of $80.90 and a 1 year high of $131.82. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 19.13 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Belden (NYSE:BDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.24. Belden had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Equities analysts anticipate that Belden will post 7.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Ashish Chand sold 14,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $1,619,925.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 107,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,939,527.05. This trade represents a 11.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory James Mccray sold 4,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.21, for a total value of $441,882.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $441,776.79. This trade represents a 50.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,428 shares of company stock worth $2,589,774 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Belden in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Belden by 208.7% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Belden during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Belden by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 634 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Belden by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 835 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 98.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Belden

Belden Inc designs, manufactures, and markets a portfolio of signal transmission solutions for mission critical applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Solutions and Industrial Automation Solutions. The Enterprise Solutions segment offers copper cable and connectivity solutions, fiber cable and connectivity solutions, interconnect panels, racks and enclosures, and signal extension and matrix switching systems for use in applications, such as local area networks, data centers, access control, 5G, fiber to the home, and building automation.